What do you think of the whole calories on the menu thing?

[ZOOYUKA]

I'd rather the menus simply list total grams of fat, carb, and protein.

I'm not eating based on calories, I'm eating with a focus on more fat and protein, and less carbs than typical.

This is my thoughts exactly. Calories are not as evil as Oprah makes them out to be.

 

[AstroManLuca]

1000 calories for a meal is not that large imo, but obviously it depends on a lot of factors.

i try to eat over 3000 calories a day and i only eat 2 "meals" so to say ... lunch and dinner. my "breakfast" is simply a protein shake which is like 300-350 calories.

so yea to me 1k calories for a meal is pretty normal.

1,000 calories for a dessert, after already eating a meal.

A pizookie is a huge pie-cookie with a giant glob of ice cream on top.

Looks pretty fucking awesome but if you eat one you can't really eat anything else all day...

Actually, wait, was that 1,000 calories total, or 1,000 calories per person if you split it three ways? I looked up some pictures of it on Google Images and wow that thing is huge; I'd actually be surprised if it was only 1,000 calories.

 

[Ns1]

Actually, wait, was that 1,000 calories total, or 1,000 calories per person if you split it three ways? I looked up some pictures of it on Google Images and wow that thing is huge; I'd actually be surprised if it was only 1,000 calories.

it wasn't that big


a large mrs fields cookie fresh baked with 2 scoops of ice cream.

 

[vi edit]

Wont change my eating habits. I dont go out to dinner to diet.

That's pretty much it. If you just had a large dine out meal, and then need a calorie guide to tell you that a giant cookie covered in ice cream afterwards is a bad idea....then well...you fail at dieting.

This stuff isn't rocket science. It's really not.

 

[AstroManLuca]

it wasn't that big


a large mrs fields cookie fresh baked with 2 scoops of ice cream.

must just look bigger in the pictures

 

[Ns1]

must just look bigger in the pictures

I've had bigger.

 

[darkxshade]

I understand many Americans overeat or are obese, but since when should we have to help them out by putting a huge STOP SIGN on the menu? I know what I'm getting myself into by getting a giant baked cookie with ice cream on the top.

So are you saying that calorie count on a menu for desserts is ridiculous? What about calorie count on actual meals[healthy or otherwise]? I don't see how disclosure is a bad thing. So your friend chose not to eat it, it's her fault. You claim you know what you're getting into and if we're going by that logic for your friend, then she didn't know what she was getting into until she saw that number which led to her decision not to get it. Because had she known[what she was getting herself into] she would have gotten it anyway.

 

[Patranus]

Dump and pointless.

I guess it was too much work for some to walk over to the little posting of calorie counts on the wall.

 

[AstroManLuca]

I think they're a good thing. I don't think most people realize how unhealthy restaurant food is. Everyone knows McDonalds is unhealthy but it's actually a lot better (or less bad, I guess) than places like BJ's because the portions are so much smaller.

Yeah, that half pound bacon cheeseburger and a half pound of fries with cream cheese sauce is pretty fucking unhealthy.

If it puts pressure on restaurants to offer at least a few items that aren't horribly unhealthy, good. And it puts the burden on people who need to watch their calories - they can't blame anyone but themselves if they look right at the menu and choose to order something unhealthy anyway. I mean, it's a better idea to just avoid restaurants entirely, but once in a while you want to eat out.

 

[ViviTheMage]

I like it, wish they did it everywhere.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

So are you saying that calorie count on a menu for desserts is ridiculous? What about calorie count on actual meals[healthy or otherwise]? I don't see how disclosure is a bad thing. So your friend chose not to eat it, it's her fault. You claim you know what you're getting into and if we're going by that logic for your friend, then she didn't know what she was getting into until she saw that number which led to her decision not to get it. Because had she known[what she was getting herself into] she would have gotten it anyway.

I have no problem with nutrition facts. I like that in fast food restaurants they were forced to put a poster up with all the nutrition facts.

As long as the restaurant doesn't hide stuff away it's fine. But do we really need it as an in your face next to the price style? I think that's excessive.

It's like the whole banning of trans fats or whatever... or whatever crazy liberal shit NYC was coming up with. It's all excessive. If people can't learn to control themselves, why do we need to help them out?

Plus, you know how girls are. They all love food, but if you tell them how much fat is in something, they'll stop instantly.

it wasn't that big


a large mrs fields cookie fresh baked with 2 scoops of ice cream.

1000 / 3 ways is fine if you think about it. If you need 2500 calories a day, and a light breakfast is sub 500, you can easily leave 1000-1500 for dinner. 300 is nothing.

But who knows. I wasn't deciding. I left it to my friend. My other friend is a cheapass so I think he was more than happy to save 1/3rd of $6.99.

 

[AstroManLuca]

Well, maybe that's a good thing. I know how much a lot of people here hate fat people. Why not support things that make it easier for them to do something about their weight? Not that this will help more than a few people here and there, but it's a step.

 

[skace]

I like it, especially the ones at McDonalds / BurgerKing that tell you not only calories but also fat/sat fat/etc. I always find it hilarious when a single sandwhich gives you like 75% of your daily fat intake. Doesn't stop me from eating anything but does put it into perspective.

And sure, you could "guesstimate" that xyz sandwhich has a lot of fat, but you'd really have no idea of how close your guess is without actual information.

tl,dr I agree with the person that said more information > less information

 

[nanette1985]

I don't care, they aren't accurate anyway. Restaurants lie.

 

[HardcoreRobot]

i would much rather have calorie counts communicated to the customers instead of regulations or taxation against fatty foods which is what some crazy people seem to favor.

its 1000 calories whether you read it or not. one way you can make an informed, eating decision, the other way you are ignorant. ignorace loses 100% of the time.

 

[darkxshade]

Additionally, I do find it a bit ironic since I would think health minded people would want this more than the fat slobs that don't care what they eat since they tend to "read the labels" at the supermarket to make informed purchases. So it comes as a surprise to me that the OP who claims to be health minded hate this.

Case in point: When I go to chipotle, I now get the burrito bowl because I had not known when I first went that the tortilla(a thin paper of a shell mind you) added ~300 calories to the total count.

You can be as healthy as you like but even then, it's still a learning process where you gain this experience by being health minded about everything you eat. So you didn't care this was 1000 calories, but did you know it was?

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

That's not even that many calories split among 3 people.

 

[darkxshade]

I have no problem with nutrition facts. I like that in fast food restaurants they were forced to put a poster up with all the nutrition facts. As long as the restaurant doesn't hide stuff away it's fine. But do we really need it as an in your face next to the price style? I think that's excessive.

Fair enough but as I've said, did you know it was 1000 calories? Isn't this the basis for how people learn how to control what they eat(at least initially)? Does it really bother you that much that the number is there? Is it the restaurants fault your friend isn't confident enough about her own health that she had to pass up on it after seeing it? The whole reasoning behind my argument was that if that number there actually swayed your friend in any way then it actually did its job no? Whether or not you agree with her decision is another story and you can't really pin that on the restaurant for being more transparent... that's just a bit hard for me to swallow. If anything you should be ranting on your friend for being ridiculous about her decision despite her being perfectly fine eating it.

 

[Perknose]

Plus, you know how girls are. They all love food, but if you tell them how much fat is in something, they'll stop instantly.

Fewer stupidly obese women is bad exactly how? ()

 

[wheresmybacon]

I like the availability of calorie counts on lots of things, although as someone who's a fan of nutrition, I usually have a pretty good idea of ballpark figures on what I'm eating at most places.

I don't see how you can order dessert at anything other than a fine dining place if you actually ate an entree as well. I never have room.

 

[dabuddha]

Love em. If it makes one morbidly obese person forgo a milkshake at least one time, it's done its job!

 

[oogabooga]

I wish more places did a nutritional breakdown with it. Knowing the calroies is good, but I'd like to also know the Fat/Carb/Protein breakdown. Though thinking about it, that'd be extremely depressing to see at the vast majority of restaurants....

 

[KeithP]

I'd rather the menus simply list total grams of fat, carb, and protein.

I'm not eating based on calories, I'm eating with a focus on more fat and protein, and less carbs than typical.

This.

Calories are nearly irrelevant.

What a surprise, the government gets something wrong again.

-KeithP

 

[airdata]

But seriously? Do we need calories on the menu?

Yes. While at 158lbs you sound like you could care less. But lots of people care about eating that extra 1000 calories.

It's good to have a ball park figure of calories available. Alot of food places would love it if they could just keep everything secret, but it's to help the consumer.

as far as more detailed account of fat/carb/protein, alot of places have that available online. Just goto google and " {restauraunt} + nutritional information "

 

[MustISO]

IMO every restaurant should have to include calories, fat, sat. fat and sodium for everything they sell.

Some do include this information and hopefully people will take notice and start eating a little better. Personally, I'd love to see the gov't set hard limits how many calories, fat, sodium, etc a meal can have.

People who eat out a lot probably consume 4,000 to 5,000 calories, 100+g of fat and 4000+ mg of sodium per day on a regular basis. This is a contributor to why people are so unhealthy and overweight.